With the majority of the poker world preparing for the upcoming World Series of Poker, and the high rollers coming together in Montenegro for a Triton Poker festival, live-streamed cash game action did not subside either over the past week.
Hustler Casino Live saw the return of Doug Polk, who decided to show his face to his fans in the build-up to the grand re-opening of the Lodge Poker Club.
The ClubWPT Gold ambassador mixed it up with the HCL regulars over the course of three shows, came out with a decent profit for his time at the tables, and once again entertained his massive fan base.
If you weren’t around for this week’s streams, here is a look at some of the most interesting hands and biggest pots we had a chance to see last week.
Polk’s Ducks Make a Set Multi-Way
Polk’s Hustler Casino Live appearances for the week started on Wednesday, when he entered the lineup for the first of the week’s three high-stakes shows.
He was joined at the tables by the likes of Mariano, Britney, Henry, Teuf, Ivan, and Brown Balla, and the stacks got very deep very fast.
One of the most exciting hands of the session started with a $400 straddle on and Henry limping in. Britney, who held Q♦8♦ made a raise to $3k, and Teuf beat her into the pot with 7♦6♦, before Ivan joined them with A♣5♣, and Doug made the call with his 2♥2♦.
Henry had no option but to complete with his A♥4♣, and the five players went to an action-packed flop of A♦3♦2♣, which didn’t completely miss any of them.
Players checked over to Britney, and with $35k in the pot, she bet $20k of her $43k total holding a flush draw. Teuf saw this as an invitation to chase his inferior draw, while Ivan thought better of it and folded his top pair and straight draw.
Action was on Doug next, and he decided that his bottom set was good enough to move all-in for $341k, a massive overbet to the current pot.
Granted, Britney only had $23k more, so she put them into the middle, but Teuf was sitting on $211k more, and went into the tank.
HALF MILLION DOLLAR POT?! 😱😱
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) May 21, 2026
If @teufeurs calls vs. @DougPolkVids we will have a BIG ONE 👀 pic.twitter.com/TGqVWOmXhq
What’s interesting is that Teuf, a player who enjoys playing live casino games in the pit, had made a profit of over $200k after buying in for just $10k, and was now contemplating risking it all with just a 7-high flush draw.
After some deliberation, the Frenchman finally decided to fold his cards, while Britney and Polk agreed to run the remaining cards twice.
The first board brought the 5♥ and 2♠, completing Doug’s quads for half the pot. The second turn was the J♣, and the river gave Britney her flush, as the J♦ rolled off.
Unfortunately, this card also completed Doug’s full house, so he scooped in the pot worth just over $122k, which could have bloated to over half a million had Teuf made the impossible call.
Doug ended the first session of the week with a massive $201k win, and Teuf joined him in the winner’s column with a $188k profit of his own. On the other side of the spectrum were Brown Balla, down $150k, and Argentinian poker vlogger Mariano, stuck a cool $302k.
Mariano and Polk Clash in a Big One
If you are wondering how Mariano managed to lose over $300k in a Wednesday HCL show, there was one hand that contributed greatly to that number.
It all started with a $200 straddle and a bunch of limps, which Doug decided to punish by making a massive raise to $9k holding Q♠10♠.
Britney, Henry, Jack C, and Brown Balla all got out of the way with their weak hands, but Mariano decided his K♣2♣ was the right hand to make a move with.
Mariano was sitting on a stack of about $180k at this point, but had gone from winning $130k in the game to losing over $120k, which meant he was perhaps in a rush to win his money back.
He made a $35k re-raise with his suited king, and Doug decided to take a flop with his suited Broadways. The two saw an action flop of Q♣10♦3♣, and the money was very likely to go in.
Mariano c-bet for $36k, and Polk decided to set the trap with his two pair by just calling. The turn card was the 8♠, which only completed one possible straight, and this time around, Mariano slowed down and checked.
Polk shipped it in for about $104k effective, and Mariano was in a spot where the math said he should probably fold. Yet, stuck a lot on the day, the Argentine decided to make the call and gamble it up.
The pot went up to just over $350k, and was the biggest of the session, and once again, Polk was taking a chance with two river cards.
The first river card was the K♠, followed by the 6♠, and just like that, Doug had scooped a massive pot and sent Mariano to the rail.
This was one of the rare situations in which Mariano decided to pack it up and leave the game, indicating just how brutal a swing he had taken in the game.
Doug Mixes It Up with the High Rollers
Doug was back on Thursday for a session of Pot Limit Omaha, before closing his week off with an appearance on the Friday show, known for some wild action and massive pots.
The lineup was what you would expect, as Peter, Nik Airball, Britney, and Jasper all joined the heads-up specialist at the table, which meant blood was guaranteed.
A fun hand involving Peter, Nik, and Doug came some six hours into the stream. Peter was sitting on a massive stack of $750k, chatting it up with his tablemates in Mandarin, and bumped it up to $800 with just 10♠7♦.
Next to act was his good friend Nikhil Arcot, known as Nik Airball, who looked down at a genuine hand in the form of J♥J♦, and made it $6k to go.
Not one to shy away from action, Jack C made the call with his K♣J♣, Doug called with A♦10♦, and Peter completed with his dubious holdings.
There was over $25k in the pot when the dealer put out a flop of Q♠10♣6♠, which wasn’t exactly music to anyone’s ears.
It checked around to Nik, who made it $16k, and Jack inexplicably decided to fold his open-ender. Both Doug and Peter made the call with their second pair, and the three players went to the turn.
The 4♦ didn’t change much, and Polk and Peter once again checked to Nik. Still confident in his hand, Airball made it $45k this time around, and Polk made the call.
The river card was the K♥, which would have made Jack’s hand best. Both players checked, and Nik ended up winning a huge $163k pot with nothing but third pair to the board.
This time around, Nik got the best of the online poker wizard, and plays like this allowed him to once again walk away a winner, taking home $120k in profit.
Doug lost $193k in this session, and was only outdone by Peter, who blew through $205k by playing his recognizable loosey goosey style of poker.
Polk still won some $60k on the week and gave us one hell of a show before driving back home to Austin to prepare for the grand re-opening of The Lodge, one of the most recognizable poker rooms in the world.
